http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/3349129WHEN the going gets tough, one of the Bush administration's favorite tactics is to attempt to limit coverage of the bad news. Cognizant of the power of words and pictures, officials have put roving reporters and grim pictures high on their hit lists, whether in Iraq or Louisiana.
By"embedding" reporters with military units, the Defense Department shaped news coverage of the Iraq invasion and occupation. Pentagon officials also tried to prevent the release of pictures of the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers flown home from Iraq. White House policy-makers and Pentagon public information officers no doubt realize that public revulsion over the steady stream of American casualties during the Vietnam War was a major factor in turning citizens against that conflict.
Taking a page from the Pentagon's public relations playbook, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials last week refused to allow journalists to accompany rescue teams in search of storm victims in New Orleans and requested that the media refrain from taking pictures of corpses, ostensibly out of respect for the dignity of the deceased victims and the sensibilities of survivors. Journalism organizations immediately criticized the action as an effort to stifle graphic reporting and influence public reaction.
As with Vietnam, the images from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that most shocked the nation are those of the dead, particularly the bodies of the elderly abandoned for days to decompose in the streets and flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans. While the media displayed pictures of sheet-draped corpses and floating bodies, most do not depict recognizable features that would cause distress to relatives and friends. What the images of Katrina's aftermath show all of us is the shameful failure of government to prepare for natural disaster and minimize its consequences.
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